In some embodiments, techniques for pricing may include detecting a visitor at an e-commerce site, determining that an item offered for sale at the e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor, detecting another e-commerce site at which the user has viewed the item, determining a historical price, wherein the historical price is associated with a web page, wherein the web page offered the item at the other e-commerce site, calculating an offering price, wherein the offering price is based on the historical price, offering the item to the visitor at the offering price, and selling the item to the visitor at the offering price.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method for pricing, comprising executing programmatic instructions at a computing device for: detecting a visitor at a first e-commerce site; determining that an item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor, wherein determining that the item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor includes determining that a URL was visited, wherein the URL relates to the item; detecting a second e-commerce site at which the user has viewed the item, wherein the second e-commerce site is different than the first e-commerce site; determining a competitive price, wherein the competitive price is associated with a web page, wherein the web page has offered the item at the second e-commerce site; calculating an offering price, wherein the offering price is based on the competitive price; offering the item to the visitor at the offering price at the first e-commerce site; and selling the item to the visitor at the offering price.
A method for pricing items on an e-commerce site involves detecting a visitor on a first e-commerce site and determining if an item for sale there is of interest to them. This determination includes detecting that the visitor accessed a URL related to the item. The system then detects if the visitor viewed the same item on a second, different e-commerce site. Next, a competitive price from the second e-commerce site (associated with a webpage where the item was offered) is determined. An offering price is calculated based on this competitive price. Finally, the item is offered to the visitor at the calculated offering price on the first e-commerce site, and if accepted, sold at that price.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes setting style information associated with a link, wherein the link is associated with the URL.
The pricing method described previously includes determining if a visitor accessed a URL related to a product of interest by setting style information (e.g., CSS) associated with a link to that URL. Specifically, when the user has clicked the link, its appearance may be changed using CSS.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein setting style information relating to the URL includes defining a “visited” pseudoclass.
In the pricing method that detects URL visits, setting style information relating to the URL includes defining a "visited" pseudo-class in CSS. This allows the e-commerce site to visually identify links the user has already clicked on, indicating prior interest in the item.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes receiving a request at a server, wherein the request is associated with the style information.
The pricing method that detects URL visits includes determining URL visitation by receiving a request at a server. The request is associated with the style information (e.g., CSS styling for visited links), indicating that the browser is requesting the style associated with a visited link.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes analyzing data provided by a browser toolbar.
In the pricing method, determining that a URL was visited includes analyzing data provided by a browser toolbar. The toolbar provides information about the user's browsing history, including the URLs they have visited, to determine if they have viewed the item on a competitor's site.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user has visited a page associated with the item at the first e-commerce site.
The pricing method described previously applies even when the user has previously visited a page associated with the item on the first e-commerce site. This allows the system to track the user's interest in the item, even if it began on the same site.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes determining an attribute associated with a link, wherein the link is associated with the URL.
In the pricing method, determining that a URL was visited includes determining an attribute associated with a link. This means inspecting HTML attributes like `rel="sponsored"` or custom attributes to understand relationship of visited URL to product. This is done in addition to just checking `visited` pseudo-class.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the offering price is the same as the competitive price.
In the described pricing method, the offering price (the price at which the item is offered to the visitor) is the same as the competitive price (the price found on the other e-commerce site).
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the offering price is a multiplicative factor of the competitive price, wherein the multiplicative factor is less than one.
In the described pricing method, the offering price (the price at which the item is offered to the visitor) is a multiplicative factor of the competitive price, where the factor is less than one. This means the offering price is lower than the competitor's price, providing a discount.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the competitive price includes determining that the visitor has previously visited a plurality of competitors, and determining a plurality of competitive prices, wherein the competitive prices are respectively offered by the plurality of competitors, and selecting a minimum from among the plurality of competitive prices as the competitive price.
The pricing method determines a competitive price by identifying that the visitor has visited multiple competitor websites and determining their respective prices for the item. It then selects the minimum of these competitive prices as the final competitive price used for the offering price calculation.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein offering the item to the visitor at the offering price includes displaying a page dedicated to the item, wherein the offering price is included.
In the pricing method, offering the item to the visitor at the calculated offering price includes displaying a dedicated page for the item, prominently displaying the offering price to the visitor on that page.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein offering the item to the visitor at the offering price includes providing information relating to the item and the offering price in a sidebar to a page that is provided.
In the pricing method, offering the item to the visitor at the calculated offering price includes providing information about the item and the offering price in a sidebar on a page displayed to the visitor, without requiring a dedicated page for the item.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein selling the item to the visitor at the offering price includes receiving a directive from the user to place the item into an electronic shopping cart, and receiving a directive from the user to perform a checkout process.
In the pricing method, selling the item at the offering price includes receiving a directive from the user to add the item to their electronic shopping cart and then receiving a directive from the user to proceed through the checkout process to finalize the purchase.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that an item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor includes determining that the visitor has visited a page on which the item is offered for sale.
In the pricing method, determining if an item is of potential interest involves determining that the visitor has visited a page on the e-commerce site where that specific item is offered for sale.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that an item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor includes determining that the visitor has visited a page associated with a category of merchandise associated with the item.
In the pricing method, determining if an item is of potential interest involves determining that the visitor has visited a page associated with a category of merchandise that the item belongs to. This shows interest in similar items, indicating potential interest in the specific item.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the item relates to a product.
In the pricing method, the item being priced can be a physical product.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the item relates to a service.
In the pricing method, the item being priced can be a service.
18. A computer program product for pricing, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for: detecting a visitor at a first e-commerce site; determining that an item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor, wherein determining that the item offered for sale at the first e-commerce site is of potential interest to the visitor includes determining that a URL was visited, wherein the URL relates to the item; detecting a second e-commerce site at which the user has viewed the item, wherein the second e-commerce site is different than the first e-commerce site; determining a competitive price, wherein the competitive price is associated with a web page, wherein the web page offered the item at the second e-commerce site; calculating an offering price, wherein the offering price is based on the competitive price; offering the item to the visitor at the offering price at the first e-commerce site; and selling the item to the visitor at the offering price.
A computer program product, stored on a non-transitory medium, implements a method for pricing items on an e-commerce site. It detects a visitor and determines if an item is of interest based on visited URLs. The program detects if the visitor viewed the same item on a different e-commerce site. It then determines a competitive price from the other site (associated with a webpage). An offering price is calculated based on this competitive price. Finally, the item is offered to the visitor at the calculated offering price, and sold at that price if accepted. Determining the user's interest includes detecting if the user visited a URL related to the item.
19. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes setting style information associated with a link, wherein the link is associated with the URL.
The computer program product implementing the described pricing method, which includes determining if a visitor accessed a URL related to a product of interest, does so by setting style information (e.g., CSS) associated with a link to that URL. Specifically, when the user has clicked the link, its appearance may be changed using CSS.
20. The computer program product of claim 19 , wherein setting style information relating to the URL includes defining a “visited” pseudoclass.
In the computer program product, setting style information relating to the URL includes defining a "visited" pseudo-class in CSS. This allows the e-commerce site to visually identify links the user has already clicked on, indicating prior interest in the item. This extends the claim for determining a user's prior URL visit during the pricing process.
21. The computer program product of claim 19 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes receiving a request at a server, wherein the request is associated with the style information.
The computer program product includes determining URL visitation by receiving a request at a server. The request is associated with the style information (e.g., CSS styling for visited links), indicating that the browser is requesting the style associated with a visited link. This further defines how the URL visitation is detected within the pricing method.
22. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes analyzing data provided by a browser toolbar.
The computer program product determines that a URL was visited by analyzing data provided by a browser toolbar. The toolbar provides information about the user's browsing history, including the URLs they have visited, to determine if they have viewed the item on a competitor's site. This capability is integrated into the pricing computer program.
23. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein determining that the URL was visited includes determining an attribute associated with a link, wherein the link is associated with the URL.
The computer program product determines that a URL was visited includes determining an attribute associated with a link. This means inspecting HTML attributes like `rel="sponsored"` or custom attributes to understand relationship of visited URL to product. This is done in addition to just checking `visited` pseudo-class. This is used to improve the accuracy of the pricing calculations by understanding user interest.
24. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein determining the competitive price includes determining that the visitor has previously visited a plurality of competitors, and determining a plurality of competitive prices, wherein the competitive prices are respectively offered by the plurality of competitors, and selecting a minimum from among the plurality of competitive prices as the competitive price.
The computer program product, when determining the competitive price, identifies that the visitor has visited multiple competitor websites and determines their respective prices for the item. It then selects the minimum of these competitive prices as the final competitive price used for the offering price calculation. This capability of getting the minimal price is performed by the pricing program.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
July 19, 2010
June 20, 2017
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